This invention relates to educational toys and, more particularly, to toys for developing the manual dexterity of children.
There are many types of educational toys for children whose primary benefit is to develop the manual dexterity of the user. A common and well-known example of this type of toy comprises a box or other type of container having a plurality of openings formed on its sides, each opening having a different shape and communicating with its interior. This toy includes a plurality of smaller pieces, each having a specific shape corresponding to one of the openings such that it is capable of passing through only that corresponding opening. The manual dexterity of the child user is developed since the child must orient each piece properly in order to insert it through its associated opening.
For example, Genin U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,150 discloses an educational toy comprising a box-like container having a plurality of openings in an upper surface, each having a distinct shape, and a plurality of blocks, each having a profile in section corresponding to the shape of one of the openings. Beneath each opening is a cam which can be rotated by a key to lower or elevate an associated block when in that opening. Each keyhole has a different slot profile so that only a key having that profile can be inserted to turn the cam behind the keyhole.
Another type of dexterity developing toy is disclosed in Mindel U.S. Pat. No. 2,623,303. That patent discloses a box-like container having a compartmented interior, and an opening of a different shape communicating with each of the interior compartments. Each of the compartments also includes a door through which the contents of the interior may be removed, and each door has a different type of latching mechanism.
A problem often associated with these types of dexterity developing toys is that the toy includes a plurality of loose pieces which are not only easily lost but can greatly increase the time required to clean up the toy for storage. Another disadvantage with such toys is that the type of manual dexterity developed has little practical application, since it is rarely required of a child to place an eccentrically shaped object into a container through an opening having a shape which matches that eccentric shape. However, the user of the toy disclosed in the aforementioned Mindel patent can develop some practical skills in operating the latches on the doors, but such skills are apparently of a secondary nature in the use of the toy so that a child would use that component relatively infrequently.
Accordingly, there is a need for an educational toy for developing the manual dexterity of the child user which does not require the use of a plurality of loose pieces. In addition, such a toy should be directed to developing manual dexterity and skills of a practical nature.